INTENTIONAL EMPOWERMENT
Celebrating 100 Years of Service : The Kentucky Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs
by BETHANIE MORGAN , MD
Kentucky is home to approximately 261,000 children and youth with special health care needs ( CYSHCN ). The CDC defines CYSHCN as those who have or are at increased risk of chronic health conditions that require greater health care services as compared to typically developing children . Kentucky ’ s Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs ( OCSHCN ) works to enhance the CYSHCN population ’ s quality of life through service , leadership , advocacy , education and collaboration with community , state and federal agencies . In March 2024 , OCSHCN will celebrate 100 years of service to the Commonwealth .
The movement to serve the needs of Kentucky ’ s CYSHCN began in the 1920s with the formation of the Kentucky Society for Crippled Children ( which later became Easter Seals ) by the state ’ s Rotary International group . The society soon recognized that the needs of the state ’ s CYSHCN outweighed its capacity to provide care and appealed to the state legislature to appropriate funds for the cause . In 1924 , an act of the Kentucky General Assembly created the Kentucky Crippled Children Commission , a group of five members recommended by the Kentucky Society for
Crippled Children and subsequently appointed by the governor . The General Assembly appropriated $ 10,000 to the Commission to provide care for the disabled children in the Commonwealth . It was evident to the Kentucky Society that this was inadequate . They were able to supplement the initial budget by raising another $ 35,000 to support the commission . Later , after seeing the impact of the commission on the children and families served , the legislature increased the appropriation to $ 200,000 – the largest appropriation received by any institution or agency in the state at the time .
The commission ’ s complement of staff was quite modest in the early years , consisting of an executive secretary , an office assistant and a nurse who was assigned to the state in its entirety . Orthopedic surgeons and other physicians worked largely on a volunteer basis as the commission ’ s operating budget could not cover the physicians ’ fees . Hospitals around the state provided treatment either for free or at a discount . Railroad and taxi companies furnished free transportation for children to and from hospitals and clinics . Newspapers advertised clinics and other services free of charge . Through this cooperation , in its inaugural year , the commission held 12 clinics across the state . In all , 704 children were examined and 152 received definitive treatment including surgical interventions and hospital care . At the conclusion of the
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